Facebook announced policy changes
affecting the way firearms are advertised and sold on the social
networking site. Instagram, which Facebook acquired back in 2012, is
also affected by the new rules.

The move comes in the wake of protests by groups against the sale of
such weapons on the sites. A campaign by Moms Demand Action, for
example, has seen more than 230,000 people send letters direct to
Facebook demanding it clamps down on gun sales on both social media sites, while Massachusetts senator Ed Markey contacted Instagram last year to ask the service to "prohibit the use of its service to enable sales of firearms."

New measures

Facebook said that from Wednesday any pages used primarily "to
promote the private sale of commonly regulated goods or services" will
now have to include information "that clearly reminds people of the
importance of understanding and complying with relevant laws and
regulations."

Similarly, when it receives a report about a regulated item being
promoted through its site, it will now send a message to the poster
reminding them to comply with relevant laws and regulations. "We will
also limit access to that post to people over the age of 18," Facebook
added.

In addition, it stated it would take down posts by private sellers
offering to sell guns without background checks or across state lines.

For Instagram, Facebook said it'll be providing "special in-app
education" for anyone searching the media-sharing service for gun sales
or promotions.

‘A difficult challenge'

The social media giant acknowledged that people use its site to
discuss regulated or controversial products, but was keen to point out
that "it's not possible to complete a sale on Facebook or Instagram."

The company described the subject of firearms as "one of many areas
where we face a difficult challenge balancing individuals' desire to
express themselves on our services," while at the same time repeating
its request that users of the site continue to report anything that they
believe may violate site policies.

"Our campaign exposed how simple it is for dangerous people to get
their hands on guns, no questions asked, not only on Facebook and
Instagram, but across the Internet," John Feinblatt, chairman of Mayors
Against Illegal Guns, said in a joint statement with Moms Demand Action.

However, the NRA have responded by saying that campaigners are
attempting to close down free speech on social networking sites,
accusing them of "trying to pressure Facebook into shutting down
discussion of Second Amendment issues on its social media platforms," according to Chris Cox of the NRA Institute for Legislative Action.

It's impossible to say right now how effective Facebook's new
policies will be regarding gun sales, but no doubt both the NRA and
those who campaigned for Wednesday's changes will be following
developments closely to see the extent to which the new measures change
the way firearms appear on the two sites.

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